What is your “go to” weapon for deer hunting ?

Drycreek said:
Sometimes

Sometimes guns just shoot. I have an AR that has an upper by one company, a lower by another that started out as a .223/5.56 but my friend and I rebarreled it to a 6.8 SPC. It’s like a lazer, everything I point it at dies. It is my go to for coyotes and pigs. I’ve killed a couple axis deer with it too. My friend painted it in camo with a rattle can, then I put a different (black) handguard on it so it looks like hell but shoots with anything else I have.
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lets hope my new Valmet 88 Will be like that. I never expect an autoloader to be too accurate but then i dont know mutch about them either.
 
Drycreek said:
Folks, I like to think deer season is just around the corner, (but I really think it’s because it’s 96* outside and forecast is for 100*+ all next week:eek:) We need something to take our collective minds off the heat and drought so I thought it might be a good idea for everyone who wants to participate to tell us about your favorite deer hunting tool, whether bow, rifle, shotgun, or handgun. Post a pic if you have one handy.

I’ll go first ! This would be my custom .280 Remington on a Remington Model 700 action with a Bartlein barrel, Timney trigger, and HS Precision stock, the only custom rifle I’ve ever commissioned. It wears a Nikon 2.5x10 scope with the BDC retical. I figure an old guy should have at least one custom gun in his lifetime. :)View attachment 24106
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Ruger American 450 bushmaster, where I live you have to use straight-walled cartridges so no .308 or 6.5 creedmore, it sucks
 
Jerry-B-WI said:
Need more information. Is that a sporterized military Mauser? Which brand of trigger, and safety? Looks like the floor plate was modified, did you do the work?
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It is. It was a small ring military Kar 98 mauser shortened by the late Cadillac, MI Gunshith Roy Stroh. I did the rest. The trigger is a timney, but it got complicated because I reduced the height of the magazine by over 1/2”, so I had to shorten the trigger housing, redrill the trigger pin hole, and make a new, shorter finger piece out of cold rolled, and then case harden it. The safety is a Dakota 3 position, like on a M70. Turned the barrel way down, too.

An interesting project. Fun to carry, but kind of hard to shoot without a rest.
 
oaknut said:
It is. It was a small ring military Kar 98 mauser shortened by the late Cadillac, MI Gunshith Roy Stroh. I did the rest. The trigger is a timney, but it got complicated because I reduced the height of the magazine by over 1/2”, so I had to shorten the trigger housing, redrill the trigger pin hole, and make a new, shorter finger piece out of cold rolled, and then case harden it. The safety is a Dakota 3 position, like on a M70. Turned the barrel way down, too.

An interesting project. Fun to carry, but kind of hard to shoot without a rest.
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I've sporterized a couple of Swedish Mausers, but not to the extent of yours. Shortened the barrels, and turned the barrel on one. Timney triggers on both but kept the factory safties. Mounted peep sights on both of them, and made quick release floor plates. Both were fun projects.
 
Jerry-B-WI said:
I've sporterized a couple of Swedish Mausers, but not to the extent of yours. Shortened the barrels, and turned the barrel on one. Timney triggers on both but kept the factory safties. Mounted peep sights on both of them, and made quick release floor plates. Both were fun projects.
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The Swedish M94 & M96s are beautifully machined rifles. I’ve never been able to get used to their cock-on-closing bolt throw, though.
 
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The cock on close to me is a superior system but then alot is personal preference. If you are used to them they make the cycling extremely fast. On a good condition spring they eject casings by themselves, just lift the bolt and the spring does the rest, then just slam it back forward. I have one scoped (gunsmith made side mount and m38 bolt) with original 29" barrel. taking N560 and a 130gr bullet it is insane. chopping the barrel down does cost you alot of the rifles potential, I get it tho, full size they are bulky and you dont need that full potential to kill anything up to moose. From a fixed position tho, popping bunnies and crows for the Farmers.... love that full length barrel from a tripod.


My new go to for deer is my sauer drilling in 12/70 and 6.2x52mm (its technically.243win but i find i need to blow out the brass a bit for it to chamber snugly and give good accuracy)
 

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oaknut said:
It is. It was a small ring military Kar 98 mauser shortened by the late Cadillac, MI Gunshith Roy Stroh. I did the rest. The trigger is a timney, but it got complicated because I reduced the height of the magazine by over 1/2”, so I had to shorten the trigger housing, redrill the trigger pin hole, and make a new, shorter finger piece out of cold rolled, and then case harden it. The safety is a Dakota 3 position, like on a M70. Turned the barrel way down, too.

An interesting project. Fun to carry, but kind of hard to shoot without a rest.
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I find most very light rifles difficult to shoot precisely.
 
Finnbear said:
The cock on close to me is a superior system but then alot is personal preference. If you are used to them they make the cycling extremely fast. On a good condition spring they eject casings by themselves, just lift the bolt and the spring does the rest, then just slam it back forward. I have one scoped (gunsmith made side mount and m38 bolt) with original 29" barrel. taking N560 and a 130gr bullet it is insane. chopping the barrel down does cost you alot of the rifles potential, I get it tho, full size they are bulky and you dont need that full potential to kill anything up to moose. From a fixed position tho, popping bunnies and crows for the Farmers.... love that full length barrel from a tripod.


My new go to for deer is my sauer drilling in 12/70 and 6.2x52mm (its technically.243win but i find i need to blow out the brass a bit for it to chamber snugly and give good accuracy)
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When I was a kid I used to visit my Sis in Dallas, TX and take a bus downtown to the Buckhorn Trading Post. The guy had two very large wooden tables out in the middle of his store. One of them was filled with drillings of all kinds. Mostly 16 gauge over some kind of European rifle cartridge, but sometimes 12 gauge shotgun barrels over a common cartridge like a 7mm Mauser. I wish I had saved up my money and bought one. These were not high end guns, but they were nice guns. Hindsight is indeed 20/20 !
 
Drycreek said:
When I was a kid I used to visit my Sis in Dallas, TX and take a bus downtown to the Buckhorn Trading Post. The guy had two very large wooden tables out in the middle of his store. One of them was filled with drillings of all kinds. Mostly 16 gauge over some kind of European rifle cartridge, but sometimes 12 gauge shotgun barrels over a common cartridge like a 7mm Mauser. I wish I had saved up my money and bought one. These were not high end guns, but they were nice guns. Hindsight is indeed 20/20 !
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well, any drilling is a high end gun really. Think of them as artisan items. They are like a double rifle with extra complexity.

12 over 7mm tends to be made to order for americans, often those stationed in west germany. 16g is the standard on most drillings because its already a heavy weapon.

I can give a pretty detailed history of the things some time if there is an interest.

My drilling was likely one made for an american soldier in west germany since 243 win and 12g is an absolute unicorn in the drilling world.

The craziest drilling still on my wishlist is a 1940s "luftwaffe drilling" but a civilian production one (gotta stay realistic with my budget) Those monsters are in 12g and 9.3x74mmr! I want one as a travel gun, take moose, bear, anything i come across, without needing multiple gun passports.

but essentially any drilling is a handcafted "fine" gun. Even the economy models would have been worth a car.
 
Finnbear said:
well, any drilling is a high end gun really. Think of them as artisan items. They are like a double rifle with extra complexity.

12 over 7mm tends to be made to order for americans, often those stationed in west germany. 16g is the standard on most drillings because its already a heavy weapon.

I can give a pretty detailed history of the things some time if there is an interest.

My drilling was likely one made for an american soldier in west germany since 243 win and 12g is an absolute unicorn in the drilling world.

The craziest drilling still on my wishlist is a 1940s "luftwaffe drilling" but a civilian production one (gotta stay realistic with my budget) Those monsters are in 12g and 9.3x74mmr! I want one as a travel gun, take moose, bear, anything i come across, without needing multiple gun passports.

but essentially any drilling is a handcafted "fine" gun. Even the economy models would have been worth a car.
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You are right of course. I should have said that they mostly didn’t have high price tags, and not fancy guns. They were beautifully made and I have thought of them many times.

He also had lots of old Colts in the glass cases and old Winchesters and Marlins on racks behind the counter. I guess the best thing was though, he would field questions from a teenage boy and let him look at and handle any gun. I tried not to be a pest, but I suspect that I was. I’ve been a gun lover my entire life and it’s one habit I’ll never kick.
 
Drycreek said:
You are right of course. I should have said that they mostly didn’t have high price tags, and not fancy guns. They were beautifully made and I have thought of them many times.

He also had lots of old Colts in the glass cases and old Winchesters and Marlins on racks behind the counter. I guess the best thing was though, he would field questions from a teenage boy and let him look at and handle any gun. I tried not to be a pest, but I suspect that I was. I’ve been a gun lover my entire life and it’s one habit I’ll never kick.
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When it comes to drillings maybe a blessing you never bought one, they are an addiction. Start off with a 16g/8mm, nice and versatile. Next you will find a scoped 16g choked mod and full with a 6.5x68mm barrel and think to yourself "hell that would be nice to have for the mountains"

next you find a 12g/6.2x52 choked IC/mid and think to yourself " damn that would make a lovely whitetail combo with some buckshot.

then you find a husqvarna in 18g/9.3x57r and think "wow i want to shoot some boar and the odd hare"

and on and on. They are such great guns, the older ones tend to be long and slender with straight stocks and fine irons, newer sauer ones (70s/80s) short and compact stubby things with claw mounted scopes.

Iam currently working on fitting a 1-10x24 scope with a red dot on my .243 for birding. Takes alot of work to fit one, the claw mount system has such tight tolerances yet each one is unique (handfitted) so fitting one that didnt come with the gun originally requires careful hand filing them out of steel scope rings.
 
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